1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method for taking up articles from a supporting surface by means of a horizontally displaceable receiving table comprising a driven transporting device and a roller-like pickup member for engaging a vertical surface of the article and an auxiliary pickup member located above said receiving table. The invention also relates to an apparatus comprising such a receiving table and such an auxiliary pickup member.
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
An apparatus for picking up books of the above type is described in the German publication DE 37 33 461. The apparatus comprises a holding member for preventing light books from being pushed away while they are picked up.
This apparatus is not suited for taking up or putting down packages of various shapes from/to the floor or from/to stacks, as they can e.g. be found in the store room of a wholesaler. Heavy articles are especially difficult to handle since considerable forces are required for picking them up. Due to insufficient frictional contact, the pickup member is not always able to exert such forces.
Frictional contact cannot be improved arbitrarily by increasing the pressure of the pickup member against the surface of the article without running the risk of damaging the article or package.
Another apparatus for taking up articles is described in GB 1 276 070. In addition to a holding member this apparatus comprises an upper guiding member with running belts for preventing articles from falling off the receiving table during pickup. Same as in the apparatus discussed above, the force for lifting the article must be generated by the pickup member alone. This can lead to damaging heavy articles.